


Where We Belong

by OpalRhea



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Everyone in SEES is mentioned, Gen, Headcanon, Mentioned MinAki and MinShin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 03:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5990779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalRhea/pseuds/OpalRhea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aigis is dying. Her Papillon Heart is fading.  With Theodore's help, she goes to the most fitting of resting places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where We Belong

She struggled down, further and further. Theodore kept her on her feet, as circuits fizzled and her body twitched and shuddered. She had been active for nearly a hundred years now, and it was time to go. Even with replacing the parts as they wore out, cobbling herself back together whenever she got broken in her quest to stop Erebus once and for all, Aigis was rapidly dying, her irreplaceable Papillon Heart fragmenting within her.   
And now, it was time to end it. It was time to rejoin her teammates, no, her friends.

Theodore, the bastard, didn't look a day over 20 as he walked the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon down through the Abyss, neatly avoiding encounters when Aigis was too weak to fight. He'd tried to take her back, and she'd sworn at him, using words she'd learned since her activation, angry at her own now feeble body.

 

And then, with almost no ceremony, there were at their destination. But it had changed.

Instead of the single statue of the girl crucified against the Seal, now there were nine. The positions had changed, with the human members of SEES, who had knowingly chosen this fate, instead of whatever awaited humans after death, standing proudly together, linked hand in hand. And there, to the right of the girl who had given everything to save them all, sat the faithful hound Koromaru. The chains that had once bound Minako Arisato now coiled around the nine statues, almost tenderly. 

Yukari Takeba was on the furthest left, her expression warm and content. On the furthest right stood Mitsuru Kirijo, as regal as any queen. Junpei Iori was to Yakari's right, his ever present joking grin permanently etched onto his features now (Aigis also noted, mildly snarkily, that this was probably the only time he would have gotten to be hand in hand with Yukari). Fuuka Yamagishi clasped Mitsuru's hand, and her statue all but radiated kindness and serenity. Ken Amada was the smallest statue, barring Koromaru, and the granite of his features was carved into a thoughtful expression, as if he was forever contemplating the justice his arcana represented. His hand was closed around Junpei's wrist, as if holding the impulsive teen back. Koromaru, ever faithful, sat next to Fuuka, bound only to the line by the chain twined around him.  
Directly left of the central figure, stood Akihiko Sanada, his posture protective and challenging all at once, and his features forevermore a balance of arrogance and care. On the opposite of him, stood Shinjiro Aragaki, right hand linked with Fuuka's left over Koromaru's head, his expression free of pain, but with hard earned wisdom within his eyes.  
And then, in the center, stood Minako Arisato herself, linked hand in hand with the two young men who she had loved and lost. Her expression, pained and sad when Aigis had first come to this place, was now the warm, vibrant smile she had been known for in life, as her friends stood by her side, sharing her burden with their strength, as they had once before.

 

Aigis knew her place in the line, and she forced away Theodore's helping hand. This, she would do for herself. She staggered painfully and slowly to the end of the line. Mitsuru's hand was open, and she closed her own around the once heiress'.

Warmth washed through her, and she felt the stone hand close around her own metal one. She felt herself changing, becoming the last link in the chain that would bar Erebus from Nyx until the monster was destroyed for good.  
Her friend's voices rippled around her, and Aigis knew that her purpose was fulfilled, and that the strength in their line would hold Erebus at bay for as long as necessary.  
She smiled gently at Theodore, telling him without words to continue the work he had began. The smile remained as metal became stone, both sad and hopeful at once.

_I chooseth this fate of mine own free will._

**Author's Note:**

> The statues are in the order that I HC the characters dying. (from middle then alternating right and left). The causes of death, excluding Minako and Shinji, are my head canons. You don't have to agree with them. Not all of them are particularly detailed. Any other suggestions, I'm happy to talk about.  
> Aigis sees them as they were during 3, possibly as a result of Minako's perceptions altering the statues to the way she remembers her friends.  
> Minako is in the center, as both the first to die, and the one who tied them togther.  
> Shinjiro is directly to her right, having died as a result of the damage he did to himself with the pills.  
> Akihiko is on Minako's left, having died because of a refusal to throw a fight.  
> Koromaru is directly to the right of Shinjiro, having passed on because of old age/possible health issues (I headcannon him as about 6 in P3 so about 8 by P4AU. Being an albino, his lifespan would be shorter than average. Plus some other factors probably. He probably lived to about 12.)  
> Ken is to Akihiko's left, having died in his mid twenties on a mission for the Shadow Operatives (much to Mitsuru's distress and despair for dragging him into the whole thing).  
> Fuuka is on the right of Koromaru, having died in the aftermath of a car accident. She did however help create several innovative medical technologies before she died, several of which were produced commercially by the Kirijo Group.  
> Junpei, Mitsuru and Yukari all died elderly, and considered themselves to have lived full lives.  
> Aigis' Papillion Heart was not meant to last a hundred years, and began to degrade, savaging Aigis' power source, and her arteficial psyche.
> 
> Extra HCs that don't show up in this fic:  
> The Kirijo Group now runs the Arisato Foundation, a group that runs hospitals, orphanages, youth services, and mental health clinics, among other things, in an attempt to reduce the despair of humanity. It was spearheaded by Mitsuru herself, and initially funded with Mitsuru's own money. Yukari also contributed a significant potion of the money she earned from her role in Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory, and the subsequent residuals (which were fiercely negotiated by a Kirijo lawyer Mitsuru had arranged when she found out Yukari would be in the show).  
> In the month of February, Minako wrote letters to all of the members of SEES, telling each of them that she did not regret her actions, and that no matter where their fates took them, she would always be by their sides. She doesn't remember writing these until Graduation Day.  
> The persimmon fruit was buried at the head of Minako's grave at Naganaki Shrine, and the tree it grew into often has prayers tied to it. The fruits are considered to bring good fortune and protection to any who eat them. The other Social Link items were either given back to their bestowers if possible, or divided up between the members of SEES if not. Mitsuru personally arranged for The Pink Alligator to be published.


End file.
